Various clothespin devices are generally familiar to most people and a number of these devices are the subject of patents issued in the United States.
Perhaps the most familiar clothespin device is the clothespin normally made of wood with a coiled spring pivot having ends extending outside of the clothespin to press the forward jaws of the clothespin together. As anyone who has used such clothespins will attest, these clothespins often twist apart either when compressed prior to use, or while employed as a clamp, thereby becoming useless. Often the various parts of the clothespin will merely twist with respect to each other and require realignment, sometimes they will literally fly apart while being used to clamp clothes to a line.
A number of devices attempting to improve on the basic clothespin, have been devised and are the subject of several U.S. patents. For example:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,475,436 to Roark for a "Clothespin" shows a structure wherein a rectangular shaped wire spring is woven around a clothespin with an open edge near the forward end of the clothespin. The clothespin is pivoted on a transverse ridge formed on one arm of the clothespin, which fits into a transverse raised socket formed on the other arm of the clothespin. The spring member extends out of the rear of the clothespin and travels along the outside of the clothespin body to return back into the clothespin at the forward end. The spring acts to directly press the jaws of the clothespin together. This type of clothespin construction has a number of problems. Although the arms of the clothespin will tend to remain aligned, there is wear on the spring and clothespin where it enters the rear of the clothespin body and, in addition, the nature of the spring itself is such as to wear out after a relatively short time of use. In addition, the outwardly extending spring presents a possible "catching" problem as a result of contact with clothes or other clothespins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,333 to Schweitzer is a relatively recently issued patent drawn to a clothespin which appears to be a modification of the prior coil spring type of device. A coil spring having two rearwardly extending arms is utilized and it is secured to each elongated member of the clothespin using a clip means. A pin and aperture assembly is shown as improving the stability of the device while preventing contact of the clothes with the spring. As with the prior wooden clothespin type device, the spring in this device also acts as the pivot. Although the spring is generally contained within the device it is exposed on either side even when the pin and aperture guard is utilized. The compression and expansion of the relatively exposed spring can still act to snag material which may not be neatly disposed in the jaws of the device.
The clamping device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,262 to Coon has a spring with its open end forward to provide a direct closing force to the forward jaws of the clamp. The forward end of the spring conforms to support walls on the jaws which, the Coon patent teaches, allows the use of stronger springs while reducing the probability of cracking the jaws.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a clothespin which will not come out of alignment or fall apart.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a clothespin which utilizes a flat spring to minimize possible snagging and to help maintain the clothespin in alignment.
It is a related object of the invention to provide a clothespin with a spring which is completely contained within the clothespin and does not extend outside the body of the clothespin. It is a further related object of the invention to provide a clothespin which is convenient to handle without the need for realignment of the parts as a result of haphazard storage or accidental misalignment in use.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide a clothespin which is economical to make and simple in construction while meeting the objects set forth above.
Further objects of the invention will, in part, be set forth in the description below and will, in part, be obvious therefrom.